Politics in the Gilded Age: 1870-`1900 (20.1 = Political Corruption..)

Politics in the Gilded Age:

20.1 = Political Corruption..

United States History - Chapter 20

​20.1 Learning Objectives...

​1. Discuss the national political scene during the Gilded Age

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​2. Analyze why many critics considered the Gilded Age a period of INEFFECTIVE national leadership.

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​Reconstruction

​Term used to describe the need to "reconstruct" or rebuild the nation following the Civil War

• ​This refers to literal, physical rebuilding from war damages

• ​This ALSO refers to the need to "reconstruct" the political system since.

  • ​Slavery had ended

  • ​Southern nations were not allowed to secede.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would NOT have been an example of the type of Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War

• How to deal with the full citizenship rights of the newly freed slaves

• Rebuild roads and buildings damaged or destroyed during the war.

• Impose federal law on southern States or regions that wanted to secede during the Civil War.

• Form two new nations out of the old United States as a result of the Civil War.

​Key points to remember concerning Civil War

• ​The southern states wanted to SECEDE but were not allowed to...that is why there was a Civil War.

• ​While President Lincoln, when first elected, claimed he would not end slavery, SLAVERY WAS ENDED as a result of the Civil War.

• ​Slavery was ended symbolically by the Emancipation Proclamation, BUT legally by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution following the war.

Multiple Choice

What OFFICIALLY ended slavery in the United States?

• Lincoln's promise in his Inaugral Address in 1861

• Lincoln's "Emancipation Proclamation"

• The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

• The 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

​More considerations post-Civil War

• ​Lincoln assassinated/VP Johnson becomes President.

• ​Johnson blocks Reconstruction wants to allow South to oppress newly freed blacks.

• ​Johnson impeached/Grant elected President in 1868.

• ​Grant supports Reconstruction

​...continued.

• ​Grant and the "Radical Reconstruction" win out politically and Reconstruction becomes SIGNFICANT.

  • ​President Grant sends troops to the South to force southern states to adhere to Reconstruction (equal rights, more justice for blacks)

  • ​In the late 1860s - early 1870s, American Blacks achieve historical rights

    • ​Voting rights lead to South Carolina's Legislature being MAJORITY black.

    • ​Most blacks in U.S. Congress during this time.

    • ​Black property ownership reaches all-time high

Multiple Choice

Which U.S. President was MOST responsible for American Blacks to achieve real justice, representation in political system and unprecedented rights following the Civil War.

• Andrew Johnson

• Ulysses S. Grant

• Rutherford B. Hayes

• Chester Arthur

​Reconstruction Ends, Jim Crow and the Gilded Age Emerge...

• ​The "Corrupt Bargain" of 1876

  • ​Grant finishes second term

  • ​A close Presidential Election in 1876 results in Republicans selling out the Presidency for an end to Reconstruction.

  • ​The "Jim Crow" South emerges without Reconstruction. Blacks LOSE all the gains of the last decade.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Corrupt Bargain of 1876 and the "Compromise of 1877"

• Reconstruction was ended and leads to Blacks LOSING a lot of their rights in the South.

• Rutherford B. Hayes, a Republican, becomes the new President.

• The Jim Crow South (state laws that oppress Blacks and other minority ethnicities) emerges.

• Blacks were allowed to keep their Congressional seats in Washington D.C. permanently.

​The Gilded Age....

​BIG IDEA - The Gilded Age starts with a major national CORRUPT political deal.

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Overall, this time period (1870-1900) is regarded as a time of WEAK national political institutions and CORRUPTION.....

​The Gilded Age?

Mark Twain called the late 19th century the "Gilded Age."

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By this, he meant that the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath.

• Glittering on the surface = Massive wealth, production, new technologies bring U.S. to new heights, overall

• ​Corrupt underneath refers to our leaders corruption and the wealth not being distributed to most Americans.

Multiple Choice

Which analogy would best fit the definition of "Gilded" as Twain meant it for the United States?

• A luxury jet with gold-plated seats inside

• A shiny apple that tastes great

• A mansion that is beautiful on the outside, but trashy inside with an illegal operation going on.

• A football player that looks really weak, but once the game starts he is the best player on the field!

​Why were Presidents weak?

• ​Several CONTESTED (close) elections which split the nation.

• ​Rise of Big Business and Corporations made wealthy industrialists very powerful.

• ​Emergence of political machines locally meant people in big cities were more loyal to local politicians than national ones.

​Presidents lacking a "Mandate"

mandate is a term that describes when a politician, particularly a President, wins the election decisively or becomes wildly popular during his term to the point that his POLICIES will be supported by the nation

• ​Because of close elections, scandals and the emergence of Big Business and Political Machines...The Presidents LACKED A MANDATE.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following "politicians" would be MOST LIKELY to have a MANDATE while in office?

• A Senator that was appointed to office by his Governor, who is very unpopular.

• Any Vice President of the United States (because they are typically popular and well-liked)

• One member of a School Board consisting of 6 people.

• A President who wins the Electoral College and Popular Election by a wide margin.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following events in American History occurred SECOND (of the four listed)?

• President Grant enforces Reconstruction in the South

• The Corrupt Bargain of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877

• President Andrew Johnson is impeached by the House of Representatives but not removed from office

• Mark Twain calls the last part of the 1800s, the "Gilded Age"

Multiple Choice

During which of the following time periods were Black Americans MOST oppressed by the actions of the U.S. government?

• The years immediately following the Civil War (Johnson's Presidency)

• The two terms of President Ulysses S. Grant

• The Jim Crow era in the South following the Compromise of 1877.

• When President Grant was first elected and the "Radical Reconstructionists" dominated Congress.